5 Best Acoustic Guitars Under $200

5 Best Acoustic Guitars Under $200

So, you’re interested in playing guitar or simply like strumming? If yes, it might take you by surprise that guitars are of different types. They have different difficulty levels to match up with how much music has one learned.

With such diversity, choosing a guitar is not a simple task, especially for beginners. And if you play an acoustic guitar, the choice is even more difficult, because even acoustic guitars are of different types.

You should only pick a guitar depending upon whether you’re a beginner or a professional. Often more, the choice also depends upon what your budget is.

Today we will help you in picking some of the best-quality budget-friendly acoustic guitars. But before we help you find an ideal music companion, you must know the types of acoustic guitars and the difference between them.

ZENY New Beginners Acoustic Guitar

There is no limit on the number of features that can be found in an acoustic guitar. But extra features always come at extra cost. No matter how sanely they are priced, that’s just on a comparison with other guitar types.

If you talk about acoustic guitars only, they’re not as cheap as you might think they are. They can even cost more than 5000 dollars.

But today it’s not about those expensive masterpieces. What we have in store today are the 5 best acoustic guitars for beginners, priced under 200 dollars. So, sock up and glance through our list to fish out the best deals.

Fender FA-100 Dreadnought Acoustic Guitar

Fender FA-100 dreadnought guitar is a full-size guitar with a 6 string rosewood bridge. It has a synthetic bone saddle across the bridge that improves the quality and intensity of the music generated. The fingerboard has 20 frets with dotted inlays, beginning at the 3rd fret itself. This product has a non-slippery body with a stylish slim neck that allows proper grip. It can be used to create warm tones for different music styles. Proper X bracing on the top increases the durability and life of this guitar.

Pros:

Affordable and lightweight.

Has a laminated glossy body.

Has dotted inlays on the fretboard.

Creates sound as good as electric guitars.

Can be used play high notes with the help of a capo.

Cons:

Weak wooden base.

Does not hold the strings tightly.

Fender FA-100 dreadnought guitar gives a feel of how sharp can the strings bite against the fingers. But on the other hand, they are durable and thin. This helps in developing the callous properly. Also, you will not have an issue with this guitar as long as you do not rotate the tuning pegs too often.

Donner DAG-1C Full Size Guitar

Donner DAG-1C is a full-sized 41-inch acoustic guitar with a slim neck for easy grip. With a smooth glossy surface, this guitar has dot inlays beginning from the 5th fret on the fingerboard. The tuner keys on either side are properly sealed just like tuning pegs are. With upper strings made of bronze and tuning keys made of alloy, this guitar creates warm music. Also, the sound’s transition from heavy to sharp from the upper strings to lower strings is very smooth.

Pros:

Easy for beginners.

Offers easy grip.

A true full-size guitar.

Easy to tune.

Has a high-end glossy finish.

Cons:

Strings are fragile and thick.

Chords have to be tuned every day.

With so many prospects and negligible cons, Donner DAG-1C guitar is a true blessing for beginners. Mainly, because despite having a full wooden body, it is still quite lightweight. Thus, it makes a wonderful portable guitar. You can buy this guitar if you want to practice non-stop strumming. The reason being, base of this guitar that holds the strings together is very strong.

Yamaha FG700S Solid Top Acoustic Guitar

Yamaha FG700S acoustic guitar has 6 strings and a rosewood fretboard. With a folk style top body, this guitar can produce melodious low-end music. It is a proper recording guitar with thin strings that allow fingerpicking as well. This product has a contrast body binding and is quite lightweight. It has a long full-sized fretboard with frets stacked closer to each other. This feature makes Yamaha FG700S a purposeful guitar for people with small hands. It has die-cast tuners that reduce tension between the strings and guitar’s neck. Furthermore, the guitar has a dovetail neck joint that further helps people with smaller hands.

Pros:

Quite affordable and lightweight.

Has strong strings made of steel.

Perfect gap between strings and fretboard.

High-quality tuning pegs.

Perfect for small hands.

Cons:

Lower E chord emits buzzing sound.

Body is prone to easy scratching.

Hardcore strumming causes strong vibrations.

With years of experience in producing high-quality products, Yamaha does not fail in expectations by delivering FG700S acoustic guitar. If you can ignore the vibrations from the lower E chord, or better fix them using a capo, then you must buy this guitar without a doubt.

Jasmine S35 Acoustic Guitar

This dreadnought guitar with X bracing has a slim and anti-slippery neck. There is a strapping button on the guitar to attach straps for wrapping it around the body while strumming. It has a spruce top and the space between the strings and frets is perfect. Jasmine S35 guitar has a thorough wooden body that’s perfectly polished and glossy. It has a full-length scale fingerboard. Also, it is a perfect outdoor guitar because it is lightweight.

Pros:

Produces delightful high-quality music.

Lightweight and portable.

Strings are thin and easy on fingers.

Comes with holding straps.

Cons:

The guitar’s body is fragile.

Strong vibrations on 1st and 2nd fret.

Not easy to tune the guitar manually.

Not purposeful for smaller hands.

Despite it has some negatives, the features that it offers at such a low price are worth a try. You can increase the life of the strings by using an external tuning device. It will reduce the tension between the strings and the guitar’s neck. Such minor fixes can make this budget-friendly guitar more than purposeful because the quality of sound that it produces is quite deep and rich.

ZENY New Beginners Acoustic Guitar

This elegant acoustic guitar with an impressive build is specifically designed for right-handers. It has strings made of steel and it measures 38 inches. The body of this product is non-slippery and has a smooth finish. Completely made of wood, it has a 19 fret fingerboard that is perfect for beginners. It perfectly fits smaller hands as well. It incorporates an additional strap button that can be used to strap the guitar around the body. Lastly, it has a slim neck and comes in 3 beautiful colors – blue, natural and black.

Pros:

The strings are made of steel.

It is easy to grip the guitar.

Is suitable for small hands.

Cons:

Emits a peculiar smell of paint.

Tuning pegs do not work smoothly.

Can bruise fingers badly.

Not as glossy as expected.

You might want to skip this guitar completely if you’re a musician and a stage performer. This one’s specifically built for absolute beginners. It covers all immediate troubles – fits all hands, does not slip, produces good sound, and is lightweight.

Types of Acoustic Guitars

Music has its own diversity in language as well as in musical instruments. And acoustic guitars are no different.

Based upon their structure and design, they are divided into the following categories and subcategories. We have simplified the list further by ranking the guitars from easy to complex.

Nylon- Stringed Acoustic Guitars

A nylon-stringed guitar was the first ever acoustic guitar type. It is also known as classical guitar.

It is of the following types:

Vihuela guitar

Gittern guitar

Baroque guitar

Romantic guitar

Russian/Gypsy guitar

Flamenco guitar

Lute guitar

Steel Stringed Acoustic Guitars

Steel stringed guitars are the most popular acoustic guitar types. They are also known as ‘Western’ or ‘Country guitars’. They are subcategorized into the following types:

Twelve string guitar

Resonator guitar

Selmer guitar

Batten guitar

Lap steel guitar

Lap slide guitar

Parlor guitar

Lyre Guitar

While the above listed two subcategories are of major importance, there are yet a few more types that we think you should know about. Hence, we list below.

Harp guitar

Banjo guitar

Acoustic bass guitar

Pikasso guitar

Contraguitar

So, now you know almost all the basics about the different types of acoustic guitars. Thus, it is time that you learn about the things that should be considered while buying them.

Things to Consider While Buying Acoustic Guitars

Every single thing has its own advantages and disadvantages. And before buying one time investments like guitars, you must know what features to focus on or avoid while buying them.

Advantages of Acoustic Guitars

Have Simple Technology – it is easier to learn different strumming patterns in an acoustic guitar. Otherwise, this is quite a tedious task towards the beginning.

Are Affordable and Durable – acoustic guitars are designed to suit beginners (6 strings guitar) as well as professionals (12 strings guitar). Which is why, they are a long-term investment.

Are Easy to Learn – on a comparison with other guitars, acoustic guitars are simple to use as they focus on basics of sound creation, that is through vibrations.

Are Portable – you don’t need any amplifier or cable connectors for acoustic guitars, unlike with other guitars where these things are mandatory.

Allow Finger Picking – the first best sign of a true musician is that he’s able to strum a guitar with fingers. And acoustic guitars offer that choice.

Allow Music Variation – you can use a capo to adjust different notes on all strings. Each string can be then used to play high as well as low notes.

Make You a Better Musician – not an exaggeration! Acoustic guitars teach music from the scratch and let you set your fingers on all strings.

Disadvantages of Acoustic Guitars

They Hurt Fingers – it needs hard fingers to strum strings, because strings can cut through flesh. And acoustic guitars certainly bruise fingers towards the beginning.

Low Sound Strength – they do not integrate amplifiers in their system. Thus, the sound produced may not be as high as you might want it to be while performing on stage.

Fragile Strings – you can’t go all crazy with acoustic guitars, because the minute you’ll cross a specific threshold while strumming at peak, the strings will break apart.

They are Bulkier – the major hindrance, especially for someone new to holding a guitar, is extra weight. And acoustic guitars are heavier on a comparison with electric guitars.

Do Not Offer Sound Effects – while the quality of music produced by acoustic guitars is better than most guitars, they cannot produce sound effects like electric guitars can.

However, despite the disadvantages they seemingly have, there’s still nothing better than an acoustic guitar to begin your music training with. And the best of all is, you will always find one within your budget. And lastly, we would like to draw your attention on a small section with tips on how to take care of acoustic guitars.

Tips to Take Care of Acoustic Guitars

As important as it is to learn the ways of finding a good guitar, it is equally important to know how to maintain them. An acoustic guitar, no matter how expensive it is, will not last longer without proper maintenance.

We have compiled a list of few simple tips that will help you in maintaining your acoustic guitars. For the sake of whatever money you invest in buying one, do have a look. And following these little simple tricks, the life and quality of your acoustic guitar will automatically prolong.

Store Properly – Do not keep your guitar flat on the ground. Always store it in the guitar case. As a first preference, use a hard case that can protect the strings.

Tune With Care – it isn’t just the strings that need care, even tuning pegs do. Do not rotate them mercilessly. Take it slow, only as much as needed.

Use Oil For Cleaning – try not to use a water-wet cloth to clean the strings. This can result in rusting. Instead, use essential oils like lemongrass oil.

Final Thoughts

Acoustic Guitars produce music of highest quality. However, they are incapable of adding sound effects. Which is why, they are mostly the recommended products for learners, and lesser for professionals. And as a beginner, you should not focus on fancy features. Instead, your focus should be a portable budget-friendly guitar that can produce high-end and low-end sharp notes. And this is where our guide will come in handy.

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